New Sanctions Target Houthi Financial Network

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has taken additional measures to target shipments of Iranian goods facilitated by Sa’id al-Jamal, a financial facilitator backed by the Iran-based Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF).

The action is part of efforts to disrupt the revenue generated through al-Jamal’s network, which supports Houthi attacks on international shipping.

Two shipping companies based in Hong Kong and the Marshall Islands, along with two of their vessels, have been targeted for their involvement in shipping commodities on behalf of al-Jamal. This move follows a previous action taken on February 27, targeting the vessel, Artura, which was also involved in these operations. The Treasury Department says earnings generated through al-Jamal’s network have been directly aiding the Houthi militant activities, including a series of attacks on international maritime commerce in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

“The IRGC-QF and the Houthis continue to rely on the illicit sale of commodities to finance their attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “The United States remains resolved to hold accountable those who enable these destabilizing activities.”

The new sanctions come as the Houthis have stepped up their attacks with the sinking of the M/V Rubymar, the first since the attacks began in November. A new attack on Wednesday against the bulk carrier True Confidence has now resulted in at least two fatalities, marking the first fatal strike by the terrorist group. The Houthis this week also hit the MSC Sky II, causing a fire that was later extinguished without injuries or significant damage to the ship.

Sa’id al-Jamal was added to the counterterrorism authority in Executive Order 13224 on June 10, 2021, for providing significant assistance to the IRGC-QF, a group previously designated under the same order in 2007 for supporting multiple terrorist groups.

In a specific case, the vessel Reneez, flagged by Palau and managed by Marshall Islands-based Reneez Shipping Limited, carried tens of thousands of metric tons of Iranian commodities for al-Jamal’s network. The network often uses falsified cargo documents to hide the Iranian origin of the cargo and disguise its ties to Iran and al-Jamal’s network.

The Panama-flagged vessel, Artura, was earlier sanctioned for transporting Iranian commodities on behalf of al-Jamal. Similarly, the vessel Eternal Fortune, owned by Hong Kong-based Hongkong Unitop Group Ltd, was found to be involved in dubious transfers with Artura, using false Automatic Identification System signals to disguise their activities.

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